Inside the Implosion of GOProud, the Right’s Most Notorious Pro-Gay Group
Tim Mak
GOProud was the loudest gay voice on the political right. They were the talk of Republican circlesand not all of it nice. Then it all fell apart.
There was a time when GOProud was the loudest gay voice on the political right. Then, a year ago, after it lost its foremost donor and couldnt find a successor, its brand was sold off for scraps.
Reports began trickling out in the press this week that GOProud had decided to close up shop. In truth, the original organization functionally folded a year ago, The Daily Beast has learned. And the attempts to reboot GOProud are being actively mocked by the men who founded the group.
The decline of GOProud is a prime example of what happens to an organization that rises to prominence through confrontationand never bothers to do the grunt work needed to sustain the outfit, once the outrage dies down. It was feisty and controversiala Tea Party, of sorts, to the more establishment-minded Log Cabin Republicans. It was an organization running on a shoestring budget that elbowed its way into the conservative conversation.
They outed a Rick Perry pollster in December 2011; they endorsed Mitt Romney, who opposed same-sex marriage; they got into social-media fights with all comers; and they called conservative activist Cleta Mitchell a bigot, not especially helpful considering she was on a board that
would decide whether they could sponsor the Conservative Political Action Conference, a longtime GOProud goal.
For many supporters of GOProud, being called a troll was a badge of honor. Their goal from the start was to plant a flag in the ground: There are gay conservatives, and here we are.
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http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/06/06/inside-the-implosion-of-goproud-the-right-s-most-notorious-pro-gay-group.html